‘The Fall of Gondolin’: A New ‘Lord of the Rings’ Book Coming Soon

Early in the writing career of JRR Tolkien, he wrote a story that would go on to inspire the famous Lord of the Ringssaga while laid up in a hospital bed. But it’s taken until now, and an assist from Tolkien’s son Christopher, for the book to see publication. Now, it’s coming out later this year, and it’s entitled The Fall of Gondolin.

The Fall of Gondolin basically set the template for Tolkien’s iconic later work, according to Tolkien scholar John Garth:

“It’s a quest story with a reluctant hero who turns into a genuine hero — it’s a template for everything Tolkien wrote afterwards. It has a dark lord, our first encounter with orcs and balrogs — it’s really Tolkien limbering up for what he would be doing later.”

The Fall of Gondolin will reportedly conclude a trilogy of previously unreleased Tolkien works, following The Children of Hurin and The Tale of Beren and Luthien, so fans should stay tuned for more information as we go further into the year.